"Bring me a glass of water, please!"

"I feel cold! Bring me a blanket!"

"Oof, it's so hot! Please, open the window!"

"I'm hungry."

"I'm feeling tired, can you put me to sleep?"

"Please feed me, my body feels weak."

"Can you help me up? So tired!"

Adrien had heard a multitude of direct and indirect orders in the span of less than 2 days. By now he had forgotten why he even stayed there. He had brought Chloé home and she asked one thing, then another and next thing he knew he was trapped in her room for hours doing this and that. At some point he was even helping her with homework before realizing that there was no need for her to do it right then and certainly no need for him to do it for her.

He had also felt uncomfortable stares from her whenever he wasn't looking. Once he napped on her armchair after she had asked him to read a story for her and in his sleepy state, he felt her close to him and then a click sound. He didn't dwell on it much, but he was getting really tired now. His father wouldn't excuse him from his lessons and Chloé basically guilt-tripped him and despite knowing this, he felt bad for leaving her alone when sick and seemingly helpless. Which he knew was a faulty thought process, because Chloé was one of the richest people in Paris and would definitely not stay alone or helpless for long if she wanted to. But still, they were childhood friends.

He had missed school this morning and even though he tried explaining that to Chloé, her fever suddenly rose up and she was looking at him expectantly with wide eyes with a hand over her forehead in a dramatic fashion. He knew better, but he had already napped longer than necessary and she would probably complain a lot after, so he gave in. But he also couldn't forget Plagg so he brought him some cheese from the kitchen after one of her food orders.

Losing the track of time, he didn't realize it was already early evening when his classmates visited. He could have sworn it was still morning, but was surprised to see the sun wasn't as high up as it should have been, but was also surprised that in those 2 days he didn't think about his own problem, but it all came back when he saw Marinette. He was too exhausted though and he was genuinely happy to see everyone there and flashed them a big smile, just so he could talk to someone else and maybe away from Chloé.

Chloé on the other hand didn't seem nearly as happy as others and was about to chew Sabrina off for not warning her, but Adrien glanced at her right then and she pretended to cough heavily.

"You shouldn't stay long," she said and coughed a bit more. "I don't think it'll be safe for you."

"Adrien has been here and he seems okay, maybe it's not that serious!" Alya exclaimed, but before Chloé could butt in, she continued "We brought you some get well gifts to wish for your speedy… recovery," she paused a bit at the end and a few noticed, although Chloé seemed unperturbed and was looking at the basket in Alix's hands with a sharp eye.

"Yeah, we all got together and bought you the chocolates you love from that pastry shop you like," said Kim.

"Mmmm," was all Chloé said with a raised eyebrow. That was as closed to a pleased expression towards as it could be. Alix handed her the basket and everyone chattered away, some wishing her well, some others just talking to each other or pointing things in the room, since for a few of them it was the first time they had stepped into her room. Chloé was fiddling with her chocolate with an obvious joy when her eye fell on Marinette who was standing at the back quietly. "What is SHE doing here?" she raised her voice and seemed to cough for real this time.

"Hello, Chloé," she tried.

"And goodbye! What nerve coming here after what you did to me! Sabrina, show her out!" she looked the other way.

"Wait! I wanted to a-apologize… for what happened," she managed to say, even though she wasn't entire sure she felt it 100%.

"Apologize? It's too late for that. Look what you've done to me!" she pointed to herself while sparing her a glance.

"I didn't do this to you!"

"Is this your apology?!"

"Yes, I mean… no," she stumbled over her words. "I apologize for taking too far and... possibly making you feel worse."

"Hmph, avoiding responsibility. Sabrina, the door!"

"Wait, Chloé, you can't honestly believe it's Marinette's fault you got a cold?" Adrien intervened and stepped in front.

"And why not? I was feeling fine before she started attacking me!" she pouted with her usual look of superiority.

"Because it's nonsense and you know it. You had caught a cold from before and you finally showed symptoms. It's not physically impossible for a cold to appear in a matter of minutes. You know that! And I thought we already talked about what happened," he chastised her crossing his arms. She still wanted to complain, but she wasn't sure how she could do it without him protecting her, something she really despised.

"Ugh, I don't care really," she groaned turning her eyes to Marinette. "The least you could do is to bring me some water."

"Me?" Marinette was surprised at the sudden change of tone and she was really expecting her to throw her out, but she asked help from her?

"Yes, you."

"You have water right here," pointed Rose to her bed table.

"That's old," she answered.

"S-sure," she replied and exited the door. Albeit the rest tried to talk her out of it, Marinette had calmed them down and if she wanted to be honest to herself, she preferred not being in the same room as her so it wasn't an entirely bad experience that she had to leave. But of course, part of her idea to come here was Adrien and she was happy that he seemed glad to see them, but on the other hand, he was at the other side of the door.

She sighed and looked around to find her place. It was a big hotel, but she had been here before helping here and there, even as Ladybug so she knew how to navigate herself more or less. But her own luxury room should have a kitchen somewhere so she started checking the place around her.

Back in the room, Adrien was shaking his head at Chloé who was innocently blinking back and soon turned her attention to the basket at hand. He could hear his classmates quietly talking about Marinette and some of them broached the topic to her, but Chloé's eyes did not seem forthcoming and they stopped. As he learnt soon after, Marinette had told them to ignore any jabs she would make against her as to not ruin another day, especially one that she was already sick.

Sometimes he wondered how… nice Marinette always was. He knew Chloé since they were children, but he only noticed how she'd treat others than him in a harsh way and was surprised to see people putting up with that. He wanted to help her as much as he could and he saw that he listened to him to some extent, but was it enough to help her get along with everyone else?

"I'll go help Marinette. She doesn't know where things are, I think," he told Alya who was near and moved to leave.

"Sure, we'll keep her busy," she smiled and moved forward to ask Chloé of random things. "Chloé, is this your shoe closer?!" Adrien smiled too and slipped out of the room. He found her pacing in front of a door, apparently not sure what to do. He crept slowly towards her.

"Hello Marinette," he said with a hidden smile. She jumped back.

"AHH!" She turned to look at him with wide eyes. "A-A-A-Adrien? What are y-you doing here?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at her honest reaction. Out of everyone, she was the only one who showed such fresh reactions and although he didn't do it often, he liked teasing her just to see what she would do.

"I came to help and I assume you needed it seeing you walking back and forth," he pointed at the door.

"N-n-no. I'm ok," she smiled shyly putting her arm behind her head awkwardly.

"So you wanted to walk back and forth in front of the bathroom?"

"The bathroom?!" Her ears reddened.

"I don't think anyone's in if you want to go," he smiled mischievously. She looked a bit panicked looking at the door a bit horrified.

"I'm… I was looking for the kitchen," she tried keeping a straight face after turning towards him. "I just meant I didn't need any help. Y-you should rest a bit!"

"It shows that much?" He wondered himself how tired he looked. Plagg had made fun of him in one of those moments when Chloé was asleep and told him he looked like a panda because of the bags under his eyes.

"N-NO!" Her horrified eyes were back and she waved her hands in front of her. "I just meant you would need some rest after taking care of Chloé for 2 days."

"I think I agree with you," he passed his hand through his hair thinking he wanted to sleep without eyes on him. "But first, we should get her water." He moved towards the corner where some fancy cupboards were and opened one of them. "There's actually a fridge here."

"Oh, I didn't expect that," she said moving closer.

"I became greatly acquainted with it the past few days. Jean, the butler, offered to help me, but… it didn't really work," he shrugged the memories of her suddenly feeling worse whenever Jean came close.

"Maybe… you should escape home now," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he poured water in a glass.

"Err, I think Chloé's a bit better than what Sabrina kept telling us she was during the weekend. Maybe you should go home and rest for a while and we can keep her company."

"It's a good idea, but…" he felt guilty leaving like that. What if she felt worse because of him?

"I guess you're worried, silly me, haha," she laughed awkwardly and turned her eyes away. "Of course you couldn't leave her alone," she bonked her head with her fist.

"I am worried or at least I was, but now that I am away from her and my dad, I realize that I am probably not as needed here as much as I thought. She feels better with people she knows," he explained with a thoughtful expression. "She was pretty lively once you all came."

"She was, although not happy to see me," she sighed. "And she seemed to 'cough' a lot," Marinette joked.

"Yeah… cough," he agreed with a smile.

For a few seconds they stood there quietly. She was darting her eyes towards him and then behind him, as if not being able to focus entirely and she somehow seemed shy. He could see that something was bothering her and wondered if he should ask her and help her somehow. She had helped him various times and reminding himself that the girl in front him might be Ladybug, the person he liked, gave him a renewed strength to actively try and learn more things about her.

He had almost opened his mouth to speak when Marinette beat him to the punch.

"We, I mean I s-should probably take the water back to the room," she exclaimed suddenly. She moved forward and awkwardly held out her hand to grasp the glass of water Adrien had left on a near cupboard, but somehow managed to trip herself and found the floor approaching fast to her face. She put the arms forward to protect herself as much as she could, but a hand grabbed her arm before hitting the ground.

"Marinette! Are you ok?" He set her straight up on her legs, but was still holding her by her upper arm, but with less force of course. Her face betrayed her surprised from the sudden incident and she was trying to regain her balance.

"Um, I'm good, great really! Just an accident, you know me, clumsy as always. Good thing I didn't spill the glass on you," she spoke fast finding his eyes and avoiding them once again.

He laughed for a second. "Yes, your clumsiness is one of your cute points," he exclaimed and felt her go still in his grasp. She was looking at him with wide eyes.

Was that a weird thing to say?

He really thought that was cute and Marinette was generally cute, but he also realized that it wasn't a conscious thought before and her recognition of her own clumsiness suddenly made sense to him.

Maybe it was a bit too forward… But isn't it something I'd do as Chat Noir?

He got embarrassed the more he thought about it and now it was him that couldn't look at her directly.

"Err, t-thanks," she stammered once again but this time her eyes kept looking at him all wide. He took his hand back and just nodded. "Erm, thank you for helping me, as well!" she smiled and grabbed the glad of water. "I should really be getting back now!" She nodded towards him and almost ran back to the room.

Was she that scared of him? Or maybe he offended her somehow with his comment. If yes, he maybe had done the opposite of progress and she wouldn't talk to him again easily. She was probably as embarrassed as himself, although he really meant it. It was weird how Marinette was that clumsy when Ladybug always seemed fierce and in control. If he thought about it, he could see resemblances, because both of them were strong, just in different areas. Obviously, Marinette had no super powers, but she was always there for everyone that needed it and helped them more than maybe a superhero could. Then again, as Ladybug and Chat Noir, they always helped everyone in any way they could. Were those 2 really that different?

He shook his head and headed for the bathroom to wash his face as if it could clear his thoughts. He headed back to the room and after seeing everyone scattered around the room, he noticed with sad eyes Marinette running around the room with Chloé giving her directions. He could see the girls wearing a concerned face, but they didn't say much other than trying to distract her. Knowing Marinette, she was probably doing it on purpose to avoid any conflict in Chloé's room since they came to visit her. For some reason though, she was smiling pretty genuinely

He stepped forward and deftly stopped Chloé terrorizing Marinette by scolding her and soothing her. She could really cold her grudges, but she usually listened to him. She then proceeded to throws daggers with her eyes towards Marinette, but at least she didn't order her around anymore. After that, a few of the girls asked her about some of her brand clothes lying around and she started bragging about her mother who owned a magazine and knew everything about fashion. He had to stay with them for a long while, since Chloé wanted him, but after some time he found an excuse to go further away.

"Adrien, come sit here," beckoned Nino from the adjoining living room. Alya, Marinette, Alix, Ivan, Juleka and Kim were also sitting with him and Kim was shuffling a deck of cards in his hands. He was more than happy to stay with them for a while, so he sat next to Ivan.

"Are we playing cards?" he asked.

"Anything to avoid being next to her. I wonder how you could do it for 2 days straight," Alya pondered out loud and everyone vaguely agreed although not openly.

"She isn't so bad…" he started, but he couldn't really convince himself when Chloé was really acting like a spoiled child. "Ok, she is a bit over the top when she is sick," he conceded. "But she is a friend."

"Tough luck, dude," Nino nodded.

"We should play some cards to help you unwind then," Kim suggested. "And whoever wins gets to dare the person with the least points!" Alix and Alya groaned.

"Do we really have to count points?" Alix asked.

"How else will it be fun? And I will get to order one of you! Win-win."

"Assuming you actually win." Alya added and Ivan agreed.

"Of course I will win!"

"We haven't even decided on a game."

"Crazy Eights."

Adrien wasn't familiar with card games really, since he didn't have people to play with before, but the rules were easy; the goal was to get rid of your every card by playing a card that matches either by number or by suit or an 8. They modified the rules so some of the cards had consequences if played and the person with the least points at hand is the one who wins, so he'd have to be fast.

The game proceeded fine with Adrien having the beginner's luck, something that Kim didn't appreciate and was trying his best to win.

"Almost at the top," exclaimed Kim.

"Adrien is still beating you, dude," Nino teased him.

"Ha, this isn't over!"

"We'll see about that, Kim," Adrien brought his brows together. He wasn't usually competitive, but it was fun when the stakes were so low and they were all having fun.

"The true goal of the game is to avoid being last though," noted Alya. "Even more so if Kim is bound to win." Everyone chuckled, except Kim who was very focused at his own cards, as if he could will them to be the best they could.

"I think the true goal is having fun," Marinette said with a bright smile. Adrien still had the suspicion she was still avoiding looking at him, but he couldn't really figure out why exactly.

"That's because you're not losing," grumbled Alya. She was at the bottom currently while Marinette was 3 places higher so there was virtually no danger.

"Haha, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Marinette, it's your turn," Adrien pointed at her, gauging her reaction.

"Ah yes, yes, sorry," she fumbled her cards and played her choice.

After a couple of rounds, there was a sudden turn of events with Marinette hitting the bottom and although she really didn't seem to mind as she had stated before, Adrien felt it was an opportunity to get closer so he got more anxious of winning. Unfortunately for him, Kim was the one at the top currently, albeit with a small difference to Adrien's score.

But before the round finished, Juleka's and Marinette's phone went off at the same time. Both grabbed their phones looking at each other curiously and checked the incoming message.

"Ah, it's Luka," said knowingly Juleka.

"Yes, I had almost forgotten about it," she put her phone down again. "We should be going," he was looking at Juleka.

"What's going on?" Alya asked and Adrien thanked her mentally.

"My brother asked us to listen to his band's practicing today. It's usually me going, but Marinette was excited to come along, as well."

"It really is exciting! I remember they played really well and I wanted to see a band practice once!" she grinned, but then she noticed the cards in her hands and her face fell a bit. "I'm sorry, guys, for leaving sooner."

"Can't you leave a bit later? We'll have to stop the game otherwise," Kim said.

"There's not enough time. But as I see it, I'm the one losing, either way," she shrugged as if she didn't mind and got up to pack up her things.

"I guess… and of course I would win, so maybe there is no point dragging it out," he said confidently.

"Haha, I trust you to not ask me something weird though!"

"We will see," he rubbed his chin pointedly.

"But!" Adrien suddenly said and all eyes were on him. He said it before thinking much, because he was surprised by how fast things changed. One moment they all had fun together and he was trying to win and the next, Marinette was leaving to find Luka and Kim was the winner. He couldn't care much about Kim though, he kept thinking it was just Juleka and Marinette going to where Luka was. He shouldn't have minded as much, but he did. "Err," he looked at everyone trying to think of what to say. "What about Chloé? You came for her, didn't you?"

"You're right…, but you are all here and I don't think she will miss me," she shrugged again a bit more shyly this time.

"Not only that, but we've been here for a couple hours now," Alya said.

"It's only been an hour though," Ivan spoke.

"Well, it definitely felt like 2 hours," she smiled. "Some of us should escape as soon as possible. Tell us how it went later, girls," she waved at them as they moved a bit aside. They waved back, said their goodbyes and after excusing themselves to Chloé as timidly as they could, they left and Adrien could do nothing else other than watching them go.